Industry group European Bioplastics hosts annual conference on December 4-5, 2018, in Berlin, Germany
September 24, 2018
Germany to promote bioplastic packaging
German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture calls for projects to develop new bio-based plastic food packaging; project proposals can be submitted until January 31 and March 31, 2019
September 18, 2018
EU Parliament supports plastics strategy
European Parliament votes to approve Commission’s plastics strategy, adopts resolution on hazardous chemicals and recycling
August 17, 2018
Soil microbes eat biodegradable plastic
Swiss and Austrian researchers show that soil microorganisms fully metabolize biodegradable polymer polybutylene adipate terephthalate; European Bioplastics deems doubts about biodegradable plastics clarified
August 16, 2018
Renewable carbon for sustainable chemical industry
Position paper by nova-Institute highlights why chemical and plastics industry should switch to renewable carbon sources and illustrates how this could be achieved
August 14, 2018
Opinion: Unlearn how to waste plastics
Article by Environmental Health News discusses increasing challenge of plastic waste driven by economic pressure and growth; recycling and bioplastics deemed ‘simple solutions’ incapable of meeting problem’s scale
July 12, 2018
EU environment committee votes on plastics strategy
EU Parliament’s Environment Committee supports EU Commission’s overall plans for plastics in circular economy, suggests further measures on microplastics, single-use plastics, hazardous chemicals
May 28, 2018
UK retailer to phase out non-recyclable plastics by 2019
UK supermarket chain Tesco aims to ban non-recyclable plastic packaging by 2019, move towards closed loop system
May 24, 2018
Many unknowns about biodegradable plastics
New scientific review points out shortcomings in biodegradability standards for plastics; lack of toxicity testing; no account for effects of plastic additives, microplastics formation
May 22, 2018
What chemicals are in plastic packaging?
Research project on hazardous chemicals in plastic packaging identifies substances most hazardous for human health and environment; many knowledge gaps remain; first results presented at SETAC Europe